Gluten Free
PizzaSalad in Thousand Oaks, California
a Gluten Free Food Review
12 September 2008
"It’s a fast-food place off the hidden path with a few plastic chairs and tables. No table service. The place looks immaculate and the salad foods look very fresh. Spoke to the manager/owner who was very sweet and tried very hard to acommodate my needs and requests. Super nice lady. I read the menu and then asked for gluten-free recommendations.
"Ordered pizza with toppings. No evidence of cross-contamination. Good experience except for two BIG problems. It is out-of-control expensive…lunch for two was over $70 for two pizza’s and two drinks. And the pizza tasted awful. She offers buckwheat or amaranth based pizza crust…both were unevenly baked and cardboard thin. Tastes and looks like wet cracker crisps with very strong flavor. The cheese looked and tasted like white plastic. Ugggh. I truly appreciate the effort, but I won’t be going back soon.
"What’s pizza without a good tasting crust and cheese? And why pay a fortune for it?
"Bottom line…pizza tastes bad and is much to expensive.
"Mary
IMPORTANT NOTE: The management of PizzaSalad sent me a rebuttal to this review. To make sure that this message gets the attention it deserves, I have included the rebuttal as a comment below and also published it as a separate article. Click here if you would like to read that article.
This is the first highly critical review we have published on this blog. I’m glad we are finally able to do it. Reading this review reminds of my feelings during the first year after my diagnosis in 1999. In those days, I would have regarded even cardboard-tasting pizza as a gift from heaven. How things have changed! How the gluten free world has expanded! There is now no need to settle for anything short of excellence.
Keep those reviews coming. The gluten free community needs to hear voices other than mine. Send me an e-mail at gfceliac@gmail.com or leave a comment at the end of this or any article. If anyone, including the management of Pizzasaladm wishes to write a rebuttal to this review I will publish that as well.
Published 9/12/98
The NFCA certified PizzaSalad as a GREAT Kitchen; PizzaSalad is a RESPONSIBLE gluten-free restaurant. The restaurant personnel and management underwent extensive training, education, and procedure review to ensure absolutely no one has gluten contamination as a result of eating at PizzaSalad.
PizzaSalad consults with every customer who requests gluten-free to make sure their meal is prepared appropriately for them whether they’re a celiac, have a gluten allergy or simply choose to avoid gluten. Our gluten-free pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and EVERY topping is cut fresh daily and maintained separately to protect the gluten-free integrity. It goes without saying that distinct utensils and prep area are utilized for these pizzas. In addition, we are prepared to answer questions about ingredient content and processing method. PizzaSalad also offers gluten-free salads with gluten-free pita chips and dressings. It is understandable that this additional investment, care, and attention is reflected in PizzaSalad’s menu.
PizzaSalad’s gluten-free “build your own” pizzas start at $16 or one may choose from a selection of specialty gluten-free pizzas (predetermined topping combinations) starting at $20. PizzaSalad’s ingredients (from the spices, flour, sauce, toppings, etc) are USDA certified organic. The pizza cheese is “white” because it is USDA certified organic white sharp cheddar and mozzarella. It is not the cheap yellow cheddar that melts into a pot of oil on top of a sloppy pizza and makes you feel like you’ve had a gallon of lard after you’ve eaten it.
We have streams of emails from thrilled customers who love our gluten-free pizzas. Of course, there isn’t a single restaurant that pleases absolutely everyone.
I’m a Celiac and so is my mother. We both eat at PizzaSalad all the time and love it. I can’t believe people think the crust tastes bad… Have they eaten other GF pizzas? The frozen pizzas are gummy on the crusts and it is so hard to make a crust from scratch since the dough is so unusually sticky.
My husband likes the gf crust, too. It’s an unusually delicious cheese and also the toppings are fresh. I suspect that some people who don’t like the pizza are used to canned or pre-frozen toppings… Or maybe it’s just a difference in tastes… but of all the friends and family who’ve gone with me there I’ve never heard a complaint.